The Lost Things
The Lost Things is currently being planned to span across several books but currently undetermined how many to match pacing. So far, potential novel name ideas are *Silhouettes *Reflections *Labyrinths *Memories Stream of Thought The Wake So pretty much the story starts with Orson getting an ominous black letter in his house. He's this 18 year old who's pretty smart but miraculously was rejected from every college he applied to. Given his kind and loving parents, he's taking a gap year to study and find himself before applying again next year. He likes books and loves words, but isn't really a nerd. During breakfast, his mom is cooking and talking with the family at the table. They're pretty tight and their conversational jabs prove it. From the kitchen, his mom asks if "detailedly" is a word and Orson jokes that for another strip of bacon it can be. Their grandfather clock bell rings that it's 8AM. Either way, the letter is an invite to his great aunt Adelaide's wake. His parents ask him to go because they have work and it'd be nice for him to meet some extended family. They discuss their plans to go camping later in the month. He drives off in his car on the day-of. It's a bright day, not a cloud in the sky. Of course, he has to drive a few towns over. It turns out his great aunt Adelaide (maternal grandmother's sister) has a pretty big estate complete with a huge metal fence around the property and tons of visitors to pay their respects. Orson notices people of all ages and appearances including. Among them is his dad's side cousin Eddie who lives a town over from him and explains that his dad had connections to Adelaide. Orson wonders how many people were actually related to her. He continues looking around and sees a few faces that'll play a role down the line. He, not knowing Adelaide at all, decides to go see her face at the casket but finds that there are far too many people there. A well dressed man eventually chimes a bell and announces for everyone to take a seat in the building. They flow in and Orson sees that the manor is incredibly huge and spaceous and filled with bookshelves. Once they all fit into the lobby, the man (Bookman) explains that he'll be distributing Adelaide's bequeathments to everyone who attended. Other suited men take small black boxes and hand them out to every guest, including Orson. The man explains that nobody is allowed to open their box until 10:00pm that evening. As the event concludes, Orson notices everyone in a hurry to leave. He sees that the casket has been moved and feels a slight regret for not seeing her face. The Beginning The weather gets dark as he drives home. His parents are nowhere to be found but Orson assumes they're out for an evening dinner. As late evening rolls around, Orson becomes a bit concerned he still hasn't heard from them or responded to his texts. He sees the crease in the black box but can't open it. It starts to storm. In the late evening just before 10:00pm, Orson hears a knock on his door. He finds Eddie there rushing to be let in. Once inside, he warns Orson that he has to hide immediately, his dad and others are coming for him, and there's no time for questions. From the window, Orson sees lights pull up. Eddie shoves him into a closet (or some other location he can peek from) and seens Eddie's dad aka his Uncle Cliff enter with a bunch of other middle aged guys with weapons. The grandfather clock rings out that it's 10PM. Cliff angrily grabs Eddie and asks if he saw Orson anywhere and Eddie denies it. He orders the men to look around the first floor of the house stating that they're late and they'll filter upstairs after. Eddie, pretending to search, stops by Orson's hiding spot. He asks him if he has his box, and Orson tells him it's upstairs in his room. Eddie tells Orson that he has to find an opening to get it and that the adults can't ever find it. One of the adults yells at Eddie. He vocalizes that Eddie might be hiding Orson in the spot. He shoves Eddie aside and is about to uncover Orson when an old man, Sigmund, appears in the open door. Cliff demands to know who he is but Sigmund doesn't respond and just looks at them with disinterest. One of the men swings at him with a baseball bat but Sigmund displays surprising dexterity and strength. He catches it midair and it begins to disintigrate in his hands. Shocked, the men are temporarily stunned as Sigmund grabs the man's neck with his other hand and crumbles his throat. One of the men points a hunting rifle at Sigmund, but a hooded figure bursts through the window and decapitates the gunman. Two more hooded figures enter the house and begin to effortlessly eliminate Cliff's men. Amidst the chaos, Eddie pulls Orson from the hiding spot and the two rush upstairs. Eddie asks Orson where his room is and he takes him there. Inside, Eddie locks the door and tells Orson to quickly open his box if he wants to live. Orson digs around for it mentioning that he couldn't earlier while Eddie explains it wasn't time before. Orson pulls it out just as someone arrives at the bedroom door. Orson opens the box and finds an ornate mirror inside and asks what he should do. Eddie, shocked and ecstatic to see it, tells Orson to quickly summon a spirit. Unsure what he means, Orson is puzzled. Eddie exclaims whether anyone explained to Orson how the inheritance works to which Orson says no. He tells Orson to focus his emotions on the mirror and stare into it. The banging on the room grows louder causing Orson to panic. He continues staring at the mirror as Eddie prepares to fight whomever opens the door. Orson sees a flicker of black pass behind his reflection in the mirror but sees nothing there. A commotion rises outside the room door before falling silent. Eddie approaches the door asking "Dad?". The doorknob shakes for a moment before it starts rusting. Realizing the danger, Eddie asks Orson whether or not he managed to summon a spirit to which Orson responds that he has no idea. Grimacing, Eddie forces Orson into his bathroom and tells him that he needs to hide. Eddie stands by the door as the doorknob begins to disintegrate. Orson, unsure of how to help, crawls into the bathtub wishing to disappear and be safe. He hears a feminine voice respond, "As you wish". He opens his eyes and sees in the vanity mirror Oleria standing above him but only in the reflection. She puts a finger to her lips and sees in the reflection countless ravens fly from nowhere and cover him from head to toe and then completely vanish. He sees from the open doorway Sigmund finally break down the door lock and enter. Eddie screams and swings a bat at him, but Sigmund knocks it aside and grabs his throat. He asks where the black box is but Eddie responds that it's not here and that he won't ever find it. Narrowing his eyes, Sigmund begins to disintegrate Eddie's neck. In his last moments, Eddie's eyes dart to the bathroom and see that Orson isn't there. With relief in his eyes, Eddie's head falls to the ground. Sigmund, following his last gaze, enters the bathroom. He takes a long look around but doesn't see Orson. He turns and leaves. Orson remains in the bathtub huddled for what feels like hours after Sigmund leaves. Answers When he finally gets out, he sees the reflected ravens disperse but doesn't see the girl. He quietly scan around his house but doesn't see any remaining assailants or even the bodies. With his house a mess and still no sign of his parents, Orson decides that he needs answers. He packs up a small bag of necessities with his family's camping bags an drives off back to Adelaide's estate. The rain pounds on his car and the empty roads. As he gets close, it begins storming. He pulls up to the gate when he arrives and makes note of how large and eerie it is under the cover of moonlight and with no one else there. Oddly enough, the gates open up for him and he cautiously approaches the main manor. At the gates, he's greeted by Bookman who welcomes him to the estate. Inside, he finds the main foyer empty and feeling much larger without people. The fire is lit and he is given a towel by Bookman to dry off next to it. As he warms next to it, he sees a red haired girl on the stairs looking down at him. Without a word, she leaves and Bookman returns. He offers him a mug of tea and asks him if he has any questions. Orson is taken aback at his straightforwardness and loses composure. Bookman remarks that his mental shock must be wearing off given his composure since he arrived at the scene. He begins with talking about Adelaide and her manor, remarking how it's no surprise Orson is confused as he knows nothing of the Otherworld. Bookman introduces himself and talks of how Adelaide made a deal for him to organize the Inheritance after her death. He introduces the knowledge of thirteen inheritors, whom Orson is one of them and the girl from the stairs was one as well. As Orson absorbs this information, he realizes he has to contact his parents. Bookman informs him that they have been taken as his entry fee for the Trials. In disbelief, Orson listens to Bookman explain that he can have them returned by finishing the Trials. Orson begins to breakdown with the death of Eddie, attack by his uncle, their death from Sigmund, and loss of his parents. The girl appears again stating that it was unfortunate he attended the Wake and even moreso that he was chosen as an Inheritor. She mentions that though it's lucky one of her competitors is new to the Otherworld, he'd best toughen up and learn to work with his partner if they want to make it through. She departs once again and Orson clarifies with Bookman that partner refers to the reflected lady earlier. Bookman muses that his partner is the Raven but sends him upstairs to one of the manor's many empty rooms to rest. He goes up to find it fully furnished with its own bathroom. Though on the brink of exhaustion, he takes his ritual mirror and stares into it but finds no one. Clutching it in his hands, he falls asleep. Within his dreams he sees flashes of the Inbetwixt including the Raven. He calls out but she does nothing but laugh at him with ravens flocking around her face. He wakes up in the morning in cold sweat. Taking a hot shower and dressing in guest robes As it turns out, the manor is impossibly larger inside than it appears outside. "Beware old men in a profession where men usually die young." "The only people who tell you not to forget where you came from are the ones that never left." Major and Notable Events Planned Orson attends the wake Orson receives his Black Box Orson summons Oleria from the Ritual Mirror The thirteen Silhouettes meet to begin the Trials in the Inverted Realm Ikara cuts off Arcelia's arm Asha leaves Sigmund's side Ikara and Asha team up Anastasia is revived Orson has Oleria erase him from existence, holds on just barely Category:The Lost Things